Hasan Minhaj is speaking out against the crushing and overwhelming realities of student loan debt in America. The comedian and ‘Patriot Act’ host attended a hearing hosted by the House Financial Services Committee to testify before a congressional committee on the issue of growing debt crisis facing at least 44 million Americans. And after thanking the committee for inviting him and making several slightly awkward jokes, Minhaj brought up the hot topic as he began “This issue is sidelining millions of Americans. People are putting off marriage, kids, home ownership, and retirement. Especially my generation.”

Hasan Minhaj, who political comedy show on Netflix focus on a number of issues recently highlighted the ever-increasing problem of student loan. He went to say that he surveyed his audience of about 200 people on Capitol Hill and discovered that they owed more than $6 million in students loan combined. “Granted, our audience is mainly unemployed poli-sci majors, but that’s still a lot of money”, said the comedian, getting some laughs.

Minhaj further went on to stress how expensive college tuitions have become in recent decades and said, “We’ve put up a paywall to the middle class.” He continued that borrowers are “still treated like deadbeats” as he called out the government for putting students’ financial future “in the hands of predatory, for-profit loan servicing companies”. Minhaj claimed that no American should go bankrupt while pursuing higher education.

At one point, the comedian even invoked Taylor Swift, who recently helped a fan pay off a loan. He said, “They’re not even asking for selfies anymore. Are you a fan of Taylor Swift? Are you a Swiftie? Even her fans have gone up to her and asked if she would pay off her student loans. That’s how desperate student borrowers are”.

The hearing was one of the first the House Financial Services Committee has held on with a focus on student lending in its history. “Given the scale of the crisis at hand, it’s long overdue,” said Chairwoman Maxine Waters. There are currently about 45 million Americans with student loan debt, which has climbed to nearly $1.6 trillion, surpassing the total amount of outstanding credit card debt and the total amount of auto debt of the country. It seems like candidates got a hot button to press in the next presidential election.

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